Pomacea Urceus

Traits: Pomacea urceus (Müller, 1774) possesses a shell that acts as an external source of protection. It is spherical or globe-like and has a short spine. It can range from 124-135mm in height and 115-125mm in width. Various colors have added to its variety such as yellow, black and olive green, with the inner lip of the shell being anywhere in between red to white. The operculum is corneous (Alderson 2015). Four main structures of Pomacea urceus can be observed: the foot, visceral mass, mantle and the face. The foot is the soft muscular part that is used to move about. Its visceral mass houses the digestive apparatus and the pericardial cavity. The mantle has the function of secreting the shell and the face consist of two long tentacles, with the eyes being at its base. Also, a siphon, 2.5 times its body length is present here. The sexes in this species are separate (Kondapalli 2015).

Distribution: It is most

Besides these, when living in swamps or rivers, they will be also co-existing with shrimps and fishes. They are rarely alone, as they move in large groups, especially when laying eggs. They are also used as food for indigenous people, so at certain times, the conch will be in abundance but then gradually drop as they are caught and eaten. The average life span for Pomacea urceus is 2-4 years, with some living longer (Holswade 2013).
Behavior: Pomacea urcues is an amphibious. It would sometimes leave the swamps and rivers to search for food on land, even though they get a lot of food in marches. They would go in search for their food at nights and then at the break of day, hide in the water to avoid predators. They are nocturnal and quite mobile. They can however be seen at all times of the day. The fire ant Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius, 1804) has been known to eat the eggs of Pomacea urceus. They are highly sought after by the ants as they are highly